I have spent almost all my working life in one or other branch of the booktrade. The idea that people in western Europe were unable to freely access books as I had always been able to just didn't seem right to me. Every year millions of books are destroyed for various reasons. A huge percentage of these are perfectly usable books. I was surprised to find how few of the organisations helping people with food, clothes and shelter recognized the importance of books to at least some of the people they help. We have frequently noticed that people who reject books the first time round will gradually become more and more interested. Of course, offering people free books is sometimes key to identifying people with reading difficulties. It is a known fact that prison populations in Europe have a far higher percentage of people with literacy problems than the general population, so encouraging literacy can lead to lower crime rates. I am ever the optimist and see books as some kind of snake oil - can be used to treat all manner of ailments. Equally, books are like some delightful box of (organically raised, fair trade) chocolates, just made to delight and relax. We have given books to refugees, trafficked women, recovering substance abusers, survivors of domestic abuse, tb patients, teenagers in sheltered accomodation, inner city youth groups, guests of Her Majesty's Prison system, innocent bystanders, sellers of the Street magazine, people supported by Humanitas, Salvation Army, St Vincent de Paul Society, former detainees... and many more.